Friday, April 20, 2007 – Red Room – Courtney Robbins, Plush – Graig Markel

We celebrated 4/20 by seeing one of favorite performers, Courtney Robbins at The Grill’s Red Room. This time, armed with guitar and Sopporo beer, Courtney played 2 sets to the packed Red Room as well as to the diner section where hipsters and hippies quenched their thirst with Bacardi and RC Cola and ate tots (without cheese – absolutely forbidden at The Grill), exchanging banter with people on both sides of the wall. I believe that Courtney is the only songwriter who has used the word “douchebag” in a song which makes me love her all the more.

As usual, “Hardcore” Brian Field joined her in singing Something’s Wrong, a song about a girlfriend she parts ways with only to find she’s engaged to, well, a guy. “Maybe she just likes the cock,” Brian blurts much to Courtney’s dismay but certainly not to her surprise. She expects such comments from her pal.

We had planned to make our way to Plush to see Will Elliott at his CD release show, but couldn't seem to bring ourselves to leave Courtney knowing she’s got just a short time left in Tucson. We walked into Plush long after Will’s set and caught the tail end of Seattle denizen, Graig Markel and his band. Are you beginning to see the Tucson/Seattle nexus here?

Although Graig's music can hardly be called high tempo, a bachelorette party rushes the stage and Drunk Girl climbs on up. Thankfully a member of the Plush staff escorted her off without much effort. Graig handled it with grace.

I was disappointed that we only experienced a couple of songs. His sound is beautiful and dreamy and sexy and smart and has been accurately compared to Elliott Smith, though I'd throw in Manic Street Preachers and Chris Isaac into the mix as well.

He just finished up his west coast tour so you'll have to pick up his latest CD, "Via Novella," which has guests Jeremiah Green (Modest Mouse) on drums, Jen Wood (Postal Service, Rachels) on vocals, and got production, mixing and engineering help from Aaron Prellwitz (Sun Kil Moon, Alaska!, Death Cab for Cutie, Trans Am) and John Vanderslice. It's a gorgeous shoegazing masterpiece.

Bang Camaro Self Titled CD - Black Swords Records

There wasn't a whole lot about the 80's that was worthy of remembering, but wasn't 80's heavy metal great? Didn't you just love driving around in your Pacer with the windows down, the wind blowing through your giant hair, radio blasting the cassette tape of Skid Row's Revolutions Per Minute, singing at the top of your lungs, "WE ARE THE YOUTH GONE WILD!"

This is what Bang Camaro are all about. The power chords. The noodly guitar solos. The big drums. The cowbell. And of course, the gang vocals, from what they call their "Choir." It's everything good about the rock of the 80's without the hair. Their songs are about girls. They're about sex. They're about drinking. They're all about the rock. Bang Camaro consist of artists, video game developers and a who's who of Boston musicians who are or were members of Reverse, Model Sons, High Ceilings, Noble Rot, The Drags, The Good North and Taxpayer to name just a few.

Rocketed to fame by Guitar Hero II (can YOU make it through their song, Push Push (Lady Lightning) without a mistake??) and a MySpace artist spotlight, they've yet to play anything but packed houses, selling out EVERY show in Boston and NYC the first year they played. (Their recent show in Philly broke their sell out streak, but only by 20 tickets). "Yeah," you might say, "but they've got a couple of guitarists, a drummer, a bassist, and EIGHTEEN lead vocalists. All they have to do is invite their parents and the venues will be packed." I'm talking about selling out places like the Paradise in Boston, The Middle East downstairs in Cambridge and the Mercury Lounge in NYC.

The sexy testosterone comes through loud and clear on the CD so you can imagine what their live show is like. In a recent interview, lead singer of Damone, Noelle LeBlanc summed it up perfectly saying, "I want to make out with everyone of them, and I'm not just saying that because I'm drunk."

Wait. Isn't she only 18 years old? That's okay. The drinking age in the 80's was 18. Close enough.



Check out Bang Camaro on their website and MySpace and be sure to get their music either by downloading on MySpace or getting it through Newbury Comics or CD Freedom.

MAYDAY!! Truckee Brothers make single available exclusively online!

With all the hoopla surrounding the recent decision to increase royalties fees for Internet radio, San Diego's Truckee Brothers are making their single, "Mayday" available May 8th, royalty free and exclusively online because as they put it, "it is illegal to repeatedly use the term "mayday" on terrestrial radio." HA! Cool.

Sure, they are trying to bring attention to their new website and the release of their second CD, Double Happiness coming out the same day on Populuxe, but I've got to give these guys credit - though they are capitalizing on a really bad situation (Yeah, the RIAA really needs more money. I'll believe that when the artists make more than they do.), at the same time they're doing something good.

Go out and buy their CD, will ya? Or since you'll be sitting at your computer anyway, buy it online.

Truckee Brothers' website
Truckee Brothers' MySpace